Department for Transport

Railways: Heathrow Airport

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will announce the process for securing a private sector development partner for the Southern Railway Link to Heathrow Airport.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department remains committed that the Southern Access to Heathrow scheme, formerly known as Southern Rail Link to Heathrow, should be a ‘pathfinder’ project with increased levels of market involvement. Government intends to provide further guidance to the market regarding the proposed commercial direction and next steps, including the process for selection of a development partner in Summer 2021.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fuel Poverty

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 26 January (HL12049), how they define the word 'ensure' in the context of their stated commitment "to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030".

Lord Callanan: In the context of this target, we use the word ‘ensure’ to mean that we will take steps to make sure that this target is delivered. We will make sure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030.

Small Businesses: Loans

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the British Business BankSmall Business Finance Markets Report 2021, published on 10 March.

Lord Callanan: The British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets Report makes clear how difficult the last year has been for many small businesses, which is why the Government continues to provide an extensive and generous package of support. This package of support includes the extended furlough scheme, VAT and business rates relief, loan guarantees and direct cash grants so small businesses are able to keep afloat, protect jobs, and build back better from the pandemic.

Northern Ireland Office

Devolution: Northern Ireland

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of devolution in Northern Ireland.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: This Government remains fully committed to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, which provided an important and stable base for power-sharing in Northern Ireland. The New Decade New Approach (NDNA) deal reached in January 2020 resulted in the restoration of the NI institutions. Good progress has been made in implementing the deal (which has included releasing over £555million of the £2bn of funding agreed in the deal and progress towards the establishment of an independent fiscal council) and establishing the governance structures that underpin NDNA (such as the Joint Board and Implementation Review meetings). The Government does acknowledge, however, that some of the matters targeted for early resolution under NDNA have been affected and challenged by the ongoing public health crisis.The Government is working to deliver the next tranche of our commitments, such as progressing legislation on the sustainability of the institutions and reforms to the Petition of Concern mechanism.

Northern Ireland Government

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the position set out in the Joint Declaration 1993, that they have “no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland”, is their current policy.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: This Government has always been clear about the importance it places on the Union and Northern Ireland’s integral place within it. Our commitment to promoting the positives of the Union for Northern Ireland does not negate the principles of the Belfast Agreement, including the Principle of Consent providing that any change in Northern Ireland's position in the Union, will only come about based on the consent of a majority of its people. The joint declaration in 1993 was an important part of the architecture that led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998 and of the peace process which has brought huge benefit to the people of Northern Ireland and we remain committed to the principles it espoused, the Agreement itself and the institutions it established.

Department of Health and Social Care

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (1) holds, and (2) publishes, data identifying those nursing homes where residents have died from COVID-19 during the pandemic; and if so, whether the CQC shares that data withthose who process claims to the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme.

Lord Bethell: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regularly shares data on notifications of deaths in individual care homes with the Department and other partners, including the Office of National Statistics, in order to monitor, plan and respond to the pandemic. The CQC does not publish mortality data by location. The NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme provides a safety net for the families of National Health Service and social care staff who die from coronavirus contracted through the course of their work. The scheme does not cover residents of care homes and does not receive data regarding care home resident deaths.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the (1) safety, and (2) effectiveness, of theOxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Lord Bethell: The vaccines approved for use in the United Kingdom, including the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Any vaccine that is approved must go through the same clinical trials and safety checks as other licensed medicines. The MHRA follows international standards of safety. So far, millions of people have been given a COVID-19 vaccine and reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, have been very rare. No long-term complications have been reported. Preliminary results showing that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine might reduce the spread of COVID-19 are hugely encouraging.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Addington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide surplus COVID-19 vaccines to athletes from Commonwealth countries to ensure that they are vaccinated in time for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Lord Addington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide (1) Olympic athletes, and (2) Olympic officials, of any nation with COVID-19 vaccines after all vulnerable groups in the UK have been offered the vaccine.

Lord Bethell: We have no plans to do so.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of adults that need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order for the UK to achieve herd immunity.

Lord Bethell: No specific assessment has been made. The full impact of vaccination on infection and transmission of the virus will not become clear until a large number of people have been vaccinated.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter by the Medical Director for Primary Care and the Director of Primary Care at NHS England and NHS Improvement to Primary Care Network (PCN)-led local vaccination sites and community pharmacy-led local vaccination sites, published on 13 February, whether PCN-led local vaccination sites are required to invite anyone who has ever had an emergency asthma admissionas part of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s cohort six.

Lord Bethell: NHS England advised local vaccination sites that Primary Care Networks should focus their efforts on inviting priority cohort six, which includes adults who had required hospital admission due to the severity of their asthma.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans were agreed, (2) how many EHC appeals took place, and (3) of those appeals, how many were successful, in each year from 2016.

Baroness Berridge: The number of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans agreed is contained in the table below. 2016201720182019Number of new EHC plans36,09442,16248,90753,899 These figures are from the Department for Education publication ‘Education, Health and Care plans’ and are for calendar years.The Ministry of Justice has provided figures on appeals and outcomes from the publication Tribunal Statistics Quarterly and these are given in the attached Excel spreadsheet. The Ministry of Justice figures relate to academic years from 1 September to 31 August of each year and are, therefore, not directly comparable to the Department for Education figures. Please note as well that a claim is recorded as being in favour of the appellant if they succeed in any part of the appeal. This means that if a parent appeals on three separate grounds, and is successful in only one of the grounds, the appeal is recorded as being successful.HL14174_xlsx (xlsx, 26.5KB)

Artificial Intelligence: Curriculum

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to include artificial intelligence awareness in the education curriculum.

Baroness Berridge: The computing curriculum, introduced in 2014, aims to ensure that all pupils understand the fundamental principles of computer science, information technology and digital literacy.As set out in the programme of study for the computing curriculum, computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Further detail about the curriculum content is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-of-study.The curriculum was deliberately designed to avoid over prescription, and reduce the risk of the content becoming outdated, given the speed of development of digital skills and technological advance. Programming, algorithms, and the use of information technology, are taught to pupils in key stage 3, which provide the foundations for pupils to acquire further knowledge about artificial intelligence (AI).This government wants every child in England to receive a world class computing education. That is why we created the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), backed by £84 million of government funding, to improve the quality of computing teaching. The NCCE have created 500 hours of free, high quality teacher resources, which align to the computing curriculum. This includes a unit of learning on AI which is taught to year 8 pupils.

Educational Institutions: Cybercrime

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support educational institutions in protecting themselves from cyber threats.

Baroness Berridge: Education settings rely heavily on IT and online services to function. They also hold large amounts of sensitive personal data on pupils, parents and staff. All this and more needs to be kept safe and secure. Education settings are directly responsible for their own levels of security and data protection and need to ensure they have the appropriate security protections in place to safeguard their systems, data, staff and students. The department encourages all leadership in education to ensure institutional resilience, by taking proactive steps and following advice and guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Department for Education.The department has been working closely with the NCSC on developing updated advice and guidance to give leadership the best quality advice, such as advice for governors and trustees which is now included in the governors handbook. Furthermore, the department is developing a self-assessment tool for schools on cyber security for the next academic year, which will help highlight areas of potential weakness and what steps can be taken to mitigate cyber security risks.The department will continue to work closely with the National Technical Authorities in this space to ensure that we provide targeted threat briefing to the education sector when issues emerge, as was done in September 2020 following a number of ransomware incidents in the education sector.

National Tutoring Programme: Pay

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the payment rate for tutors delivering the National Tutoring Programme.

Baroness Berridge: High quality tuition remains one of the core principles of the programme, and the department have worked closely with delivery partners to ensure this is delivered across both pillars of the programme.When selecting approved tuition partners, the department worked with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to ensure schools had a wide range of high quality tuition partners to choose from in order to best suit the needs of pupils.As a result, the approved tuition partners include a range of profit, non-profit and educational institutions, all of which offer tuition through different models and varying in price. It is the responsibility and discretion of tuition partners to set their own pay and conditions for the tutors they employ in accordance with other costs associated to tutoring, such as training, preparation for sessions, delivering tutoring via online platforms, communication with schools and quality assurance processes.The EEF have developed a guide to the cost, quality and value for money of tuition, which can be accessed here: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/news/making-tutoring-count-cost-quality-and-value-for-money.

Pupils: Food

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of stateschools providing (1) breakfast clubs, (2) food banks, and (3) food and other parcels, to the families of pupils; and whatplans they have to support schools to continue this provisionin the long-term.

Baroness Berridge: The government remains committed to ensuring the most disadvantaged children continue to be supported.The department is investing up to £38 million in the National School Breakfast Programme. Overall, this money will set up or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas, making them sustainable in the long run. The focus of these clubs has been to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country – including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas – to help make sure every child gets the best start in life. We will shortly be providing more information on the future of breakfast club provision, as our current contract is due to expire in July.During the periods of school attendance restrictions, schools have been asked to continue to provide support for eligible free school meal pupils learning at home. Schools have been able to choose the approach that works best for them, whether providing a lunch parcel, a locally arranged voucher or accessing the national voucher scheme. So far families have redeemed more than £90 million in supermarket vouchers during this school term.The government has taken unprecedented measures during the COVID-19 outbreak to protect the most vulnerable and put in place a strong package of financial support to support families and children. The COVID Winter Support Package was announced in November 2020. This included: the Department for Work and Pensions’ £170 million COVID Winter Grant Scheme, which has now been extended until the end of the Easter holidays (16 April 2021); the £220 million national expansion of the department’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme in 2021; and a further £16 million for FareShare to distribute to food charities.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Body Searches

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 9 March (HL13570), what consideration they have given to the views of women prisoners regarding the possibility of being searched by people identifying as transgender women in their review of the national policy on the searching of prisoners.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and a revised version is intended to be published later this year. In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. Further consultation will be made with contributing groups including HMPPS women’s group. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.

Treasury

Halifax Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland: Fraud

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any department has given directions to the Financial Conduct Authority in connection with its investigation of the alleged frauds identified in the 2013 'Project Lord Turnbull Report' at (1) Halifax Bank of Scotland, and (2) Royal Bank of Scotland.

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to establish an independent inquiry into the handling by the Financial Conduct Authority of the alleged frauds at (1) Royal Bank of Scotland, and (2) Halifax Bank of Scotland.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: As you are aware, the FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has strictly limited powers in relation to the FCA. In particular, the Treasury has no general power of direction over the FCA and cannot intervene in individual cases. Given the matters raised are the responsibility of the FCA, in view of its independence, it is not for the Government to provide direction. However, as you may be aware, in the case of HBOS, Dame Linda Dobbs has been appointed as an independent legal expert to consider whether issues in the HBOS Reading Fraud were investigated and appropriately reported to authorities at the time by Lloyds Banking Group. At present the Dobbs review is ongoing and once completed, its findings will be shared with the FCA. On Royal Bank of Scotland and GRG, the FCA has concluded their final investigation, which reaffirms the outcome of its enforcement investigation, which was announced in July 2018. Finally, there are currently no plans for the Government to establish an independent review of the conduct of the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to the RBS and Lloyds Banking Group.

Monetary Policy

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Bank of England’s actions to insulate public funding to interest rate increases by issuing debt with larger maturities; and the effect of quantitative easing on that strategy.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The UK Debt Management Office, an executive agency of HM Treasury, is responsible for government wholesale sterling debt issuance, not the Bank of England. HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office seek to minimise, over the long term, the costs of meeting the Government’s financing needs, taking into account risk. In its March 2021 Economic and fiscal outlook the Office for Budget Responsibility noted that quantitative easing reduces the average effective maturity of UK government debt from 15 years to 11 years. This maturity remains much longer than international peers, with most G7 countries’ debt maturity averaging 5-8 years.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ethiopia: Genocide

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of mass killings of civilians in the Oromia region of Ethiopia; and what steps they are taking in response.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are deeply concerned by the violent clashes in recent months in the Oromia region of Ethiopia with reports of mass killings. We are also extremely concerned by recent reports of killings of Amharan civilians, including women and children in Horoguduru in Western Oromia. Leaders on all sides must be clear that ethnic-based violence and discrimination will not be tolerated, and must stress to all those under their control the importance of respecting human rights and avoiding civilian loss of life at all costs. The Foreign Secretary underlined the need for all Ethiopians to be respected and not be subject to violence and discrimination during his visit to Ethiopia on 22 January. When the Minister for Africa visited Ethiopia from 27-29 July 2020, he discussed ethnic tensions with the Ethiopian President and senior Ministers, as well as the President of Oromia. We continue to monitor the human rights situation in Ethiopia closely.

Turkey: Christianity

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of Turkey's expulsion of 60 Protestant and Evangelical Christians resident in Turkey,on security grounds.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of the issue of foreign Christians being denied permission to remain in or re-enter Turkey and have raised our concerns with the Turkish authorities. Decisions concerning immigration to Turkey are a matter for the Turkish authorities and we are unable to intervene or request information on individual cases. We will continue to monitor the situation and to encourage Turkey to safeguard freedom of religion and belief as enshrined in the Turkish constitution.

Commonwealth: Coronavirus

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will prioritise the sending of surplus COVID-19 vaccines to Commonwealth countries following the conclusion of the UK vaccination programme; and whether any such prioritisation will be confined to those countries with a ranking below 90 in the Transparency International Corruption Index.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Prime Minister announced on 19 February that the UK will share the majority of any surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses with the COVAX international vaccine procurement pool. As the multilateral mechanism for ensuring equitable global access to vaccines, COVAX is best able to distribute vaccines where they are needed most, and will be most effective, and any doses we contribute will be allocated in line with COVAX's agreed protocols and criteria.All but two members of the Commonwealth are COVAX members, and I am pleased to note that 31 Commonwealth countries, across four regions, will be receiving COVID-19 vaccines as part of the first set of COVAX deliveries, the very first of which was received in Ghana on 24 February.

Turkey: Religious Freedom

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, since March 2016, what estimate they have made of how many British citizens have been expelled by the government of Turkey because of their religious belief, where the stated grounds for expulsion concern security.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We do not hold figures for the numbers involved. We would not usually become aware of such cases unless the individuals concerned approached our diplomatic missions in Turkey seeking consular assistance.

Falkland Islands: Marine Protected Areas

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 March (HL13597), (1) whether, and (2) if so, why, the Falkland Islands have been excluded from the definition of the South Atlantic Overseas Territories; and whether the Falkland Islands have benefited from the Blue Belt programme.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Falkland Islands are geographically part of the South Atlantic UK Overseas Territories region, but they have so far chosen not to be part of the Blue Belt initiative. The Blue Belt programme remains open to all Overseas Territories, and the UK is keen to offer support to any Territory wishing to enhance marine protection in its waters. Over the past five years, the Blue Belt programme has also contributed funding to the Darwin Plus scheme, which has funded marine environment projects in Overseas Territories which are not currently participating in the programme.

Foreign Relations

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many requests have been (1) received, and (2) accepted, by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs for a meeting with a foreign affairs minister from another government in each of the past 12 months; from which governments they have received such a request; and when any such meetings (a) occurred, and (b) are due to take place.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Meetings between Ministerial departments and their international counterparts are a regular part of Government business.For security and diplomatic reasons we do not routinely publish details of these meetings.

Human Rights: Older People

Baroness Greengross: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the proposed United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons; and what assessments they have made of the potential risks of ratifying this convention, including the risk that older people may be classified as having different human rights to other adults.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is clear that human rights are universal and is committed to protecting the human rights of all persons, including older persons. The UK recognises that there can be barriers to the enjoyment of human rights associated with certain characteristics, including age, and we know that older persons often face serious human rights issues in many parts of the world. We are supportive, in principle, of a multilateral instrument dedicated to the rights of older persons, and welcome the UN Open Ended Working Group on Ageing's work to help deepen our understanding of the important issues, before we consider what might be the most appropriate solution. There is currently no draft Convention for the UK to consider ratifying. We will continue to work closely with Parliament, academia, civil society and national human rights institutions, to draw on their expertise and ensure that our approach takes account of their views.

China: Coronavirus

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about its reported refusal to share the raw data on the first 174 COVID-19 cases to be identified in December 2019 with the World Health Organization.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, it is important the WHO-convened experts be given full access to the data they need to understand why the outbreak happened, why it was not stopped earlier and what can be done to manage any outbreak in the future. We will look closely at the field mission's report when it is published and continue to advocate for a robust, open and scientifically rigorous international investigation.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Buildings

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the national availability of warehouse space; what steps they are taking in response; andwhat assessment the Ministry of Defence has made of the potential for private sector involvement in the utilisation of suitable surplus or underutilised sites and buildings.

Baroness Goldie: The Government Property Agency is working in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to analyse existing storage requirements within the Civil Estate in order to ensure that the future warehousing and depot strategy provides value for money.The MOD has commissioned a project to evaluate warehousing and storage capacity across the UK, which aims to deliver an initial capability report by spring 2022. There is currently no spare warehousing capacity to offer to the private sector.

Ministry of Defence: Civil Proceedings

Lord Tunnicliffe: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many investigations into (1) current, or (2) former personnel, have been launched following the pursuit of civil claims against the Ministry of Defence by (a) current, or (b) former, personnel in each year since 2015.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence has a duty to ensure that common law compensations claims are paid at the correct level where there is a legal liability to do so. In exceptional circumstances, surveillance investigations are undertaken to observe the true extent of a claimant’s alleged injuries in cases where there is a reasonable suspicion about the veracity of a claim or where medical evidence suggests that the claimant’s disability is wholly inconsistent with the type of injury. There is no distinction made between serving or former personnel. The table below shows the number of surveillance cases undertaken for the last five complete financial years.  Financial YearNumber of cases2019-2020372018-2019212017-2018222016-2017172015-201611

Armed Forces: Families

Lord Tunnicliffe: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the new UK Armed Forces Families Strategy.

Baroness Goldie: I refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave to the right hon Lord Touhig on 26 November 2020, in response to Question HL10461.HL10461 - Armed Forces Families (docx, 14.4KB)

Napier Barracks

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government, when Napier Barracks was last used continuously to house military personnel.

Baroness Goldie: From 1967 Napier Barracks was used continuously to house military personnel up until 1991. Following this it was reallocated as a training camp and used by personnel training at nearby locations as temporary accommodation. It was then taken over by the Home Office in September 2020.

Napier Barracks

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government, on how many occasions Napier Barracks was used for short-term training purposes in each year since 2016.

Baroness Goldie: The number of occasions that Napier Barracks was utilised for short-term training purposes in each year since 2016, up until it was taken over by the Home Office in September 2020, is detailed in the table below: YearNumber of days2016352201735220182902019155202040Total1,189

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentres: Staff

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many 50 PLUS Champions are currently employed in Jobcentres.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: We currently have 14 50PLUS Champions at Department regional level who work collaboratively with our 37 District 50PLUS Champions to raise the profile of our older claimants. The champions act as a single point of contact for cascading messages, communications and best practice to colleagues locally and nationally. They raise awareness with Work Coaches, employers and providers of the products available to them, for example local groups, online tools and more.

Unemployment: Older People

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions held with the Business Champion for Older Workers in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions delegated the ownership of the relationship with the Business Champion for Older workers, Andy Briggs, to her ministerial team. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Employment) and departmental officials have regular meetings with the Business Champion for Older workers to actively promote the business case and the benefits for the retention, retraining and recruitment of older workers.

Unemployment: Older People

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Employment) held with the Business Champion for Older Workers in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Employment) held standalone meetings with the Business Champion for Older Workers twice in 2020, and so far once in 2021, with a further meeting scheduled in April. The Minister for Employment and the Business Champion for Older Workers co-chair quarterly Roundtables with national employer organisations jointly, delivering their shared aim of promoting and championing the benefits of employing older workers. In addition, Officials work closely with the Business Champion for Older Workers to support employers and actively promote the business case and benefits for the retention, retraining and recruitment of older workers. We are grateful for the outstanding work of the Business Champion for Older Workers.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to prevent, and (2) to monitor, fisheries bycatch to protect (1) porpoises, (2) dolphins, (3) whales, (4) seabirds, and (5) other species sensitive to the effects of bycatch; and what methods they intend to use to monitor such bycatch.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government funds Clean Catch UK which is a collaborative research programme dedicated to better monitoring, reducing, and, where possible, eliminating bycatch of sensitive species in UK fisheries. We are taking a risk-based approach to implementing this, focussing on fisheries which experience the highest rates of bycatch in the first instance. As a known hotspot for bycatch, work is already underway in the South West of England. We are currently undertaking trials for a range of mitigation measures in different fisheries along Cornwall’s south coast and will be looking to include more fisheries in this over the next 12 months. The Government remains committed to monitoring and enforcing our fisheries so that we can manage them sustainably. As part of this, we continue to explore the potential uses of Remote Electronic Monitoring alongside other tools such as observer coverage and self-reporting apps.

Fisheries

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of bycatch on populations of (1) harbour porpoises, (2) common dolphins, (3) humpback whales, and (4) other species sensitive to the effects of bycatch.

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact offisheries bycatch on the welfare of (1) porpoises, (2) dolphins, (3) whales, (4) seabirds, and (5) other species sensitive to the effects of bycatch; and what steps they are taking to prevent anynegative effects caused by such bycatch.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK Government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme which helps to protect sensitive marine species and to monitor and reduce any potential fisheries impacts on these species. The UK has an additional observer programme which collects data on fisheries catch and bycatch for scientific advice and management. The Government also funds Clean Catch UK which is a collaborative research programme dedicated to better monitoring, reducing, and, where possible, eliminating the bycatch of sensitive marine species in UK fisheries. In addition, we also fund the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, which conducts research on threats facing cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales) through carrying out post-mortems on stranded animals. We are about to let a new 10-year contract for this programme, which demonstrates our long-term commitment to monitoring and mitigating such threats, including bycatch. These programmes all contribute to the assessment of bycatch on populations and associated welfare implications of sensitive marine species.

Home Office

Asylum: Military Bases

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers have contracted COVID-19 while staying at (1) Napier Barracks, and (2) Penally military training camp.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thefindings of the Independent Chief Inspector, published on 8 March,of theasylum accommodation at (1) Napier Barracks, and (2) Penally military training camp.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration announced an inspection of contingency asylum accommodation on 25 January 2021.The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally.The ICIBI’s inspection continues and a full inspection report will follow.The duration of the inspection is a matter for the ICIBI and upon its conclusion, following standard procedure set out in the UK Borders Act 2007, the Department will issue a formal response alongside the inspection report as it is laid before Parliament and published on Gov.UK.197 people accommodated at Napier tested positive for coronavirus earlier this year. There have been no recorded cases at Penally.

UN Climate Conference 2021: Visas

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to ensure that visa applications from COP26 attendees are dealt with efficiently.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office is working closely with Cabinet Office, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other government departments on preparations for welcoming participants to COP 26.The Home Office has provided the UNFCCC with information on the visa application process and will be supplying event specific guidance in the upcoming months.Arrangements are in progress to ensure entry clearance staff will be able to cross reference applications with the UNFCCC to confirm invitations of those registered to attend the event along with an escalation process.

Fire Safety Bill

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 9 March (HL13562),what changes, if any, they made to the Fire Safety Bill after discussions with the Royal Estate following their request for Queen's Consent; for what purpose any such changes were made; and with whom the discussions were held.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Home Office sought Queen’s Consent for the Fire Safety Bill on 20 February 2020. This was obtained by the Royal Estate on 9 March 2020 and there were no changes to the Bill.

Home Office: Sanitation

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of theworks to make the toilets in the Home Office unisex;what assessment they have made of staff satisfaction with theunisextoilets; whether any female (1) staff, or (2) visitors, have refused to use the unisex facilities; and if so, how many.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The cost of directional signage and conversion works carried out in 2017 at the department’s Headquarters at 2 Marsham Street to provide gender neutral toilet facilities was £36,963.Data is not collected on the number of staff or visitors who may have refused to use the facilities.

Peers: Correspondence

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to respond to the letter from Lord Pearson of Rannoch to Baroness Williams of Trafford, sent on 19 February; and if so, when.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I can confirm to the noble Lord that a response to this letter was sent on 16th March 2021.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Church of England: Land Use

The Lord Bishop of London: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) thereport by the Commission of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on Housing, Church and CommunityComing Home: Tackling the housing crisis together, published on 21 February, and (2) proposals to use church-owned land to buildaffordable housing developments; and what plans they have (a) to review existing charity law, (b) to extend the provisions of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, and (c) to amend other relevant legislation,to allow for land to be used for charitable purposes without a requirementfor financial gain.

Lord Greenhalgh: We welcome the recent report from the Archbishops’ Commission, and the very important contribution of the Church to our shared commitment to help our country build back better, including supporting affordability. We will continue to work closely with the Church of England to explore how we can support them and work together to achieve our shared commitments.We have already made a number of commitments which will bolster the delivery of high quality and sustainable affordable housing. The Government is investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will leverage up to £38 billion of private finance and provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.The Government would welcome the use of church-owned land to bring forward more affordable housing, and is content that charity law can facilitate this. The Charity Commission is able to approve the disposal of land or other assets at less than market value where the disposal is consistent with the charitable purpose of the organisation. We understand that the Charity Commission is engaging with the Archbishops’ Commissioners to understand how this can be better communicated within the Church, and we welcome that dialogue.

Housing: Disability and Older People

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to meet the housing needs of (1) older, and (2) disabled, people.

Lord Greenhalgh: We place great importance on the provision of suitable homes for older and disabled people. Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older and disabled people when planning for new homes. In 2019 we published Planning Practice Guidance in order to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.In August 2020 we published our planning white paper, which set out the high-level details of our proposed planning reforms and we continue to engage with a range of stakeholders in order to help shape our proposals.In September 2020 we consulted on how to raise accessible housing standards and we have also committed to a full review of Part M of the Building Regulations which includes a research programme to help us to consider what changes can be made.In January 2021 we published the draft National Model Design Code, which guides local authorities on how to provide a variety of choice of homes to suit all needs and ages, including those of older people and disabled people.We are committed to protecting and boosting the supply of supported housing and our aim is that 10% of delivery under the new Affordable Homes Programme will be for much needed specialist and supported housing for older and disabled people.Lastly, by 2021-22 we will have invested over £4 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2021-22) which has provided an estimated 400,000 adaptations in disabled people’s homes.

Levelling Up Fund: Cornwall

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they used to allocate Cornwall to tier 2 for assistance from the Levelling Up Fund; and what plans they have, if any, to transfer Cornwall to tier 1.

Lord Greenhalgh: As set out in the prospectus published at Budget, the index used for the Levelling Up Fund places areas into category one, two or three based on the local area’s need for economic recovery and growth, improved transport connectivity, and regeneration. We have published the index and further details of the methodology used to calculate the index of places set out in the prospectus.While preference will be given to bids from higher priority areas, the bandings do not represent eligibility criteria, nor the amount or number of bids a place can submit. Bids from categories 2 and 3 will still be considered for funding on their merits of deliverability, value for money and strategic fit, and could still be successful if they are of sufficiently high quality.

Coal: Cumbria

Baroness Worthington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Cumbria County Council decision to approve the opening of a new coal mine in Cumbria was mentioned in communications between ministerial private offices in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Lord Greenhalgh: None. No mention has been made, as Cumbria County Council has not approved the opening of the new coal mine in Cumbria.

Cabinet Office

UK Trade with EU

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of (1) exports from the UK to the EU, and (2) imports from the EU to the UK, since 1 January.

Lord True: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.  Baroness Ritchie of DownpatrickHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW Dear Lady Ritchie, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made on the level of (1) exports from the UK to the EU, and (2) imports from the EU to the UK, since 1 January (HL14230). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish monthly trade statistics[1]. The latest official estimates are for January 2021, the first month since the end of the UK’s transition period with the European Union (EU). It should be noted that monthly data are erratic and small movements in these series should be treated with caution. There were also a number of atypical economic and global factors[2] contributing to the falls seen in the January data, so it is too soon to draw conclusions from the data. Data on exports of goods from the UK to the EU and imports of goods to the UK from the EU can be found in Table 1 below. Please note that data are in current prices and, as such, include the effect of inflation. Services data for January 2021 are not currently available at a geographical level. Table 1: UK Imports and exports of goods with EU excluding non-monetary gold and other precious metals, in £ billion, seasonally adjusted  ExportsImportsDecember 2020 Value (£bn)13.722.8January 2021 Value (£bn)8.116.2Change (£bn)-5.6-6.6% change-40.7%-28.8%Source: ONS  Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond [1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/bulletins/uktrade/january2021[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/articles/impactofthecoronavirusandeuexitonthecollectionandcompilationofuktradestatistics/2021-03-08

Foreign Relations

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many requests have been (1) received, and (2) accepted, by the Prime Minister for a meeting with another head of government in each of the past 12 months; from which governments they have received any such requests; and when any such meetings (a) occurred, and (b) are due to take place.

Lord True: Meetings between the Prime Minister and his international counterparts are a regular part of Government business. Details are published on the gov.uk website.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many requests have been (1) received, and (2) accepted, by the Secretary of State for International Trade for a meeting with atrade minister from another governmentin each of the past 12 months; from which governments they have received such a request; and when any such meetings (a) occurred, and (b) are due to take place.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: Given the number of invitations received for Ministers, this information is not readily available or held centrally. Meetings between Ministerial departments and their international counterparts are a regular part of Government business. For security and diplomatic reasons we do not routinely publish details of these meetings.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Pornography: Internet

Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the effectiveness of current age verification tools in protecting children from seeing adult content online; and what plans they have to ensure that the efficacy of such tools are addressed as part of the forthcoming Online Safety Bill.

Baroness Barran: Although the government will not be mandating the use of specific technologies through the legislation, we do expect that the regulatory framework will drive innovation and take-up of age assurance solutions, where some in-scope companies will be required to identify child users and provide them with a higher level of protection. This includes the use of age verification technologies to prevent children from accessing high-risk content such as online pornography.We are continually assessing the benefits of technical measures while developing online safety policy. We are also working closely with stakeholders across industry to establish the right conditions for the market to deliver robust and effective age assurance solutions ahead of the legislative requirements coming into force. This includes working with regulators and industry to deliver transparency on the efficacy of solutions.

Pornography: Internet

Baroness Grender: To ask Her Majesty's Government which commercial pornography companies will be in scope of the Online Safety Bill;and whether commercial pornography websites which (1) do not host user-generated content, or (2) allow private user communication, will also be in scope.

Baroness Barran: The government is committed to ensuring children are protected from accessing online pornography through the new online safety framework. Where pornography sites host user-generated content or facilitate online user interaction such as video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming, they will be subject to the new duty of care. Commercial pornography sites which allow private user to user communication will be in scope. Where commercial pornography sites do not have user-generated functionality they will not be in scope. The online safety regime will capture both the most visited pornography sites and pornography on social media, therefore covering the majority of sites where children are most likely to be exposed to pornography.We expect companies to use age assurance or age verification technologies to prevent children from accessing services which pose the highest risk of harm to children, such as online pornography. We are working closely with stakeholders across industry to establish the right conditions for the market to deliver age assurance and age verification technical solutions ahead of the legislative requirements coming into force.